(a) Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic warning light control device for automobiles, and in particular to an automatic warning light control device that automatically switches between warning lighting and direction indication lighting to enhance driving safety and convenience.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
An automobile is equipped with a warning light system and a directional signal light system and both systems are operated on the same directional signal lights of the automobile. In such an automobile, the warning lighting takes priority over the directional indication lighting. Also, the left and right directional signal lights are connected in a parallel manner. Thus, when the warning light system is actuated, which means both the left and right directional signal lights are powered on to blink simultaneously, there is no way for a driver to operate any one of the directional signal lights individually.
Timing for using the warning lighting includes: (1) when the automobile malfunctions or when an unexpected situation happens to the automobile; (2) when the automobile is temporarily pulled off to park by the road; and (3) when the automobile is driven in an extremely heavy rain or poor weather. In such situations, the driver of the automobile often manually switches on the warning light system to causes both directional signal lights to blink simultaneously.
For a conventional automobile, as shown in FIG. 1, the warning light system 1 and the directional signal light system 2 share the same directional signal lights. The directional signal light system 2 is operated with a lever 21, which is often arranged by a steering wheel of the automobile. The lever 21 is operatively coupled to a blinking relay 22. A selector 221 is contained in the blinking relay 22 and is electrically connected to the left and right directional signal lights 23, 24. When the driver moves the directional signal control lever 21 to a desired direction, either left or right, the relay 22 sets, via the selector 221, the associated directional signal light 23, 24 to blink. And when the warning light system 1 is actuated, the left and right directional signal lights 23, 24 both blink at the same time to give off warning to other drivers or pedestrians. Thus, when the warning light system 1 is actuated, both the directional signal lights are put in simultaneous blinking condition and the direction indication function of the directional signal lights 23, 24 is disabled. This means there is no way that the driver may use the directional indication function of the directional signal light system 2 by simply moving the directional signal control lever 21 to the desired direction without shutting down the warning light system 1 first. For both directional signal lights are kept in the simultaneous blinking condition by the warning light system 1 and either one of the directional signal lights cannot blink alone, provided both being normally functionable. This sometimes causes traffic accidents for the drivers of the following vehicles or the drivers of the vehicles coming toward the automobile cannot identify the automobile driver's intention in changing lane or changing moving direction.
Further, when the automobile is driven in a poor weather or heavy rain, the vision of the driver is not clear and is thus very limited due to the weather. If the warning lighting is not turned on to give off warning to other drivers and pedestrians, collision or accident may easily happen. In addition, in case a large piece of article is loaded in the trunk of the automobile by which the trunk lid cannot completely closed, the unclosed trunk lid may cover the third brake light of the automobile so that the drivers of the following cars cannot clearly observe the lighting of the third brake light, and traffic accidents may thus result.
Thus, in view of the drawbacks of the common use of the directional signal lights by the warning lighting system and the directional signal light system, the present invention is aimed to provide an automatic warning light control device that overcomes the drawbacks.